Malaysia is ready for local council elections now after witnessing a peaceful transition of power last month, said the Centre for A Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) co-president Gan Ping Sieu.

At a press conference, he said the people are more mature and more ready for local council elections.

"Of course there will be fringe groups and radical groups within our people, but the bulk of people are ready for such changes," he said.

"I won't be surprised if we were to do a survey, I think the public will demand it (to happen) tomorrow," he said.

Gan said the return of the third vote to the people via local council elections was needed, following a survey Cenbet conducted in February.

The survey results, which were released today, showed 79 percent of the 1,000 respondents polled across the country opined that municipal councils needed to be independent.

Only 38 percent of the respondents felt local governments were trustworthy.

Gan said mayoral and local council presidential elections can first be held for city halls, city councils and municipal councils.

As for district councils, he felt their limited revenue may constrain the possibility of local elections.

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin had previously pledged to hold elections for city mayors and local council presidents once the country's economy had stabilised.

She said she expected that elections could be held within three years.

The Pakatan Harapan Wanita chief also believed that local communities would not elect representatives along racial lines when local elections are held, contrary to “a concern of some political parties”.